Who’s That Beastie?

On Tuesday, I introduced you to some of my new Barróg Beasties – Beasties with a bit more of an Irish flavour than usual! So, just who is Pint Beastie‘s (on the left) mystery friend?

It’s Red Lemonade Beastie!

The island of Ireland is home to three distinct native colours of lemonade… and that’s before we started experimenting with blow-ins from overseas, such as pink lemonade and (SHOCK) lemonade that’s actually the colour of real lemon juice. White lemonade (the clear stuff, like 7-Up or Sprite) is available all over, but the other two colours – red and brown – are a more localised phenomenon, and they’re almost impossible to find beyond these shores. For this reason, red lemonade is one of the things Irish expats say they miss most about home, along with Tayto crisps and proper fried breakfast ingredients.

As for me, I’d never experienced red lemonade until I moved south of the border, many years ago. In Northern Ireland, where I grew up, brown lemonade is king… the brown colour (if memory serves) comes from caramel, so although the flavour is similar to white lemonade, there’s a more mellow sweetness to it. Brown lemonade always reminds me of my aunt’s kitchen – when I was a teenager, I’d sometimes visit her house after school, and there would always be a glass of brown lemonade and some dark chocolate waiting for me!

In Dublin, however, lemonade is red. Well, a sort of reddish-brown, which I’ve tried to capture in felt for Red Lemonade Beastie’s bottle…
TK is one of the most popular brands… their bold logo is still recognisable, even on a Beastie-sized bottle! And you’ll see human-sized bottles at most Irish family gatherings… Everywhere from children’s birthday parties to weddings! According to Wikipedia, red lemonade is also popular as a mixer for spirits, which was news to me. Further internet research on this theme brought up a cocktail recipe, which the bravest of you might like to try if you ever find yourself on these shores. A heady mix of Glendalough poitín (traditional Irish moonshine, now commercially produced and less potentially lethal), red lemonade, Angostura Bitters and fresh lime, the Glendalough Red Eye certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted!

That said, the addition of intoxicating liquor is completely optional. For most of us, it’s enough to pick up a 2 litre bottle, pour some out into a pint glass full of ice and enjoy!

{ I very recently read an article by Sarah ( 21st Century Time Traveller–a fellow classmate )–in this article she was talking about British history and said that people used to drink ale more than water as water was injurious to health in those days 😀

Also: Queen Victoria made it a policy to give ample amount of liquor to avoid discord and mutiny among people: Clever strategy lol 😛 😀 }

What do you think?
Once again a beautiful article.
Would wait for another mysterious trip.

Oh…I thought he was Irish. 🙂
I watched a film “Braveheart” recently–a fictitious account of a real revolutionary hero directed and enacted by Mel Gibson.
So–you don’t pledge allegiance to queen? She’s a sovereign of Great Britain right?

Ah, that’s a tricky one! I was born in Northern Ireland, which is still part of Britain, and does technically pledge allegiance to the Queen. The Republic of Ireland is a separate, autonomous country. As you may know, there has been an ongoing rift in Northern Ireland (the so-called “Troubles”) between the largely Catholic Republicans, who want to be part of the Republic of Ireland and be governed from Dublin, and the predominantly Protestant Unionists, who wish to remain part of the United Kingdom. Although my own origins are more on the Unionist side, I’ve always loved Dublin, and I moved here to attend university… Then forgot to leave afterwards 😀 So I consider myself both British AND Irish, and I’m proud to hold passports for both countries.
Hope that clears things up a little! Although Braveheart isn’t set in Ireland – it’s the story of William Wallace, a Scottish revolutionary who tried to rally the Scottish against the English in the 13th century 😃

Yes now I understand it better. You won’t think that it’s terrorism–the disturbance you mentioned. The other day I was helping a young kid with an essay on terrorism–I came across Irish terrorist organizations being the first in the history.

I guess I am eating up a lot of your time these days 🙂
Have fun Helen,
Anand

Not at all! I’m happy to explain these things… Northern Ireland was still quite dangerous, even when I was growing up, but we’ve come a long way since then! It’s a brilliant place to visit if you’re ever in this part of the world… Spread the word 😀

Thank you 😀
Yes, back in the days before properly clean drinking water (and, perhaps more importantly, the understanding of why some water made you sick and some didn’t) I believe beer was the tipple of choice – even for children! Then again, they were probably using wild yeasts (ie whatever fell into the brewing vat) and didn’t have access to refined sugar, so the beer probably wasn’t as strong as it is today. I think I said in an earlier post that we Irish have a bit of a reputation when it comes to drinking, but I’m not sure how much we deserve it. Although a fondness for boozing does go hand in hand with living in northern latitudes – we have to do something to get through those long dark winter nights!
Have a good day 😀

Sure, we get the big international brands of lemonade (7up, Sprite) in their “diet” versions, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen sugar-free red or brown lemonade! I’ll have to investigate next time I’m in the shop… Although I wouldn’t hold out much hope… According to this article (http://www.theawl.com/2012/10/a-treasury-of-bizarre-irish-treats) which a friend of mine shared on my FB page, we Irish have a dietary death wish!